DISCOURSE ON THE CONCEPT OF BALANCE OF SAKALA AND NISKALA SPACES IN ETHNIC BALINESE HOMES

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1 DISCOURSE ON THE CONCEPT OF BALANCE OF SAKALA AND NISKALA SPACES IN ETHNIC BALINESE HOMES I Kadek Merta Wijaya Department of Architecture, Universitas Warmadewa <amritavijaya@gmail.com> Abstract Architecture is not just about physical manifestations; more than that architecture is the substance of the physical being. This concept is found in Eastern architecture, one being traditional Balinese architecture in which there are sakala (tangible) spaces and niskala (intangible) spaces for ritual activities and for non-ritual activities. In the ethnic Balinese home there are three zones namely a sacred zone, a residential zone, and an outer space and lebuh. All three zones have tangible spaces in the form of structures and intangible spaces or special markers. These two types of spaces are maintained through normative rules. This paper draws from a qualitative naturalistic study about the discourse on the concept of the sakala space and niskala space in the ethnic Balinese home through an approach of local and universal concepts. The results show the existence of balance of sakala and niskala spaces in the dynamics of ethnic Balinese homes in the architectural development for maintaining its characteristic. Key words: balance, sakala space, niskala space, ethnic Balinese home A. INTRODUCTION The concept of balance is one of Balinese Traditional Architecture characteritic, known as rwa bhineda. The concept is based on the philosophy of tri hita karana which is the basic foundation in maintaining harmonious relationship between man and God, between human and environment. This dichotomous relationship can be found in spaces in Balinese Ethnic House. These spaces are concrete (sakala) and abstract (niskala), can be found in every point in the courtyard of Balinese Traditional House. The sakala space is the architectural form itself or building and its real boundaries and niskala space is abstract space but has manifestation in real form or in empty space. The concept of balance between the sakala and niskala space clearly visible start from construction, maintenance and renovation of Balinese Traditional House. Based on the concept of people belief in the existence of the spiritual realms in the real world (earth). Hierarchy between sakala and niskala are dichotomies, which means they cannot stand alone, the existence of sakala can affect the niskala and vice versa. So, the spatial management becomes very important to understanding life and culture of Balinese ethnic community. The construction of balinese traditional house, they perform land clearing ceremonies or change of non-settlement land into a land that is suitable for inhabited by humans. After the construction begin, the balance of the sakala and niskala are also well managed by doing routinely and incidentally spiritual ceremony. Even to renovate or demolish the building, they also perform land management through the spiritual ceremony before evacuation. Space in Balinese traditional house generally consists of three levels, for the shrine, human settlement and public space or landscape. These three zones have a balance value sakala and niskala marked by the elements. The spiritual space is a Sanggah or complex for the family temple as the sakala and niskala space consist of palinggih-palinggih and special marker to do an offerings (banten). The concrete pace of the residential space is the house itself, intended for the bedroom, socialization, playing and private activities of residents, while the niskala space in form of elements palangkiran (a place for offerings). In the public space or landscape 73

2 in form of the entrance, the natah and the lawn are the sakala space and the niskala itself marked by spatial form or special sign. This research has propose to understand or concept of sakala and niskala that is dichotomous or balanced through discourse approach. The discourse approach emphasizes the conceptual constructs of empirical phenomena (Lubis, 2004: 148) which essentially states that discourse is a means of generating knowledge through a comprehensive approach resulting in a rule, system and procedure different from the general context. In this research using qualitative naturalistic method through local concept approach and universal concept. The local concept consist of tri hita karana and rwa bhineda, while the general concept consist of abstract space and concrete and sacred and profane. This is done to parallel between the local concept and the general concept through a dialogue between the two. B. LITERATURE STUDY 1. Tri Hita Karana in Balinese Traditional Architecture The book of Balinese traditional architecture inventory by the Government of Bali (1985 in Wijaya, 2017) the concept of tri hita karana consists of three points are atma (element of soul), angga (element of body), and khaya (element of energy, power). On a macro scale, these three points are embodied in: (a) parhyangan which is a shrine for Hindus, manifested by temple as an element of reflection of the God; (b) pawongan in the form of a human settlement in an indigenous organization and (c) ) palemahan in the form of residence or natural environment. The concept of tri hita karana is not only translated in the context of settlements, but also in the micro scale of residence. Wastika (2005), the realization of the concept of tri hita karana on residential scale are: (a) sanggah or merajan zone as a spiritual zone to worship Sang Hyang Widhi and the ancestors of each family; (b) the natah zone or the central courtyard as a space for setting up houses for sleeping and performing ceremonies and other social activities and (c) the lebuh zones as a place to place unused materials and farmland. 2. The concept of Rwa Bhineda in Balinese Traditional Architecture The concept of rwa bhineda are two opposites but complementary to one another. The concept of this dichotomy or dualism in the Balinese perspective of human being as bhuana alit (microcosm) is part of the universe as the bhuana agung (macrocosm). The analogy of this concept is also a relationship between residential buildings with its inhabitants which both aspects are a unity in forming a balanced and harmonious holistic space. (Swellengrebel, 1960) In relation to this research, the concept of rwa bhineda is manifested between the sakala space (concrete) and the niskala (abstract) space. Where the existence of the niskala space becomes the substance of the space of the sakala or the existence of the niskala space is in the dimension of the sakala. Both spaces are maintained to balance through the spatial management through ritual ceremonies and rules that bind the two spaces. 3. The Concept of Sacred Space and Profane According to Eliade (1957 in Wijaya, 2017), that the sacred space is also called the temple is the space to get chaos orientation homogeneity profane world, discover the world and feel the real meaning. While profane space is a space that is not bound to the rules of sanctity. The sacred space has the character of being a manifestation of a sacred space (hierophant) like a tree or a large stone and there are binding rules in using and entering the space. In Balinese traditional house, sacred space in the form of a shrine or marajan marked by elements palinggih and physical boundary (penyengker). Not all activities can take place in the area, only activities related to ceremonies and rituals are allowed, including not allowed for women who are during periods or cuntaka. 74

3 4. The Concepts of Sakala and Niskala Space In Balinese traditional architecture there are two properties of space that is sakala and niskala. These two spaces are dualistic in which their existence is contradictory but complementary to each other. In architectural form, the two elements must be realized to create balance between the visible and abstract elements. The form of architecture (sakala) and emission outside the form (niskala) placed in a unity and manifested in every part of the architecture. (Hasil Sabha Arsitektur Tradisional Bali, 1984 in Wijaya, 2017). 5. Concept Space In Architecture The concept of space in architecture consists of two understandings of East and West. The concept of space in Eastern thought is represented by Lao Tzu (in Ashihara, 1983) that is a space consisting of two elements of being (visible) and non being (invisible) and the essence of the space are non-palpable elements (non being). Whereas in Western thought according to Aristotle (in Ven, 1991), the most important element of a space is a visible element. These elements are: (a) the place of the object enclosing it; (b) the place is not part of the enclosure; (c) the place of an object is no larger and no smaller than that object; (d) the place can be left behind by the object and can be separated from that object and (e) the place always follows the object. C. METHODOLOGY This research uses qualitative naturalistic method through local concept approach and universal architectural concept. The concepts are knowledge to understanding the values contained in every phenomenon in this research. The focus of this study emphasizes the conceptual discourse on case objects relevant to locus in Balinese ethnic homes. The final result is the conceptual discourse about the space of the sacred and the niskala. The steps of this research are as follows: 1) Understanding of sakala and niskala concepts, tri hita karana, rwabhineda and universal concepts that have relevance to the topic. 2) Survey and field observation on Balinese ethnic residential objects in lowland and mountain areas. 3) Analyzing through the dialogue of the concept of the sacred space and niskala through selected cases with local concepts and universal concepts. 4) Synthesize and summarize the results of the analysis in the form of the concept discourse about the space of sakala and niskala in ethnic home of Bali. D. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. The concept of Tri Hita Karana on Sakala and Niskala Spaces Implementation of the concept of tri hita karana in residential dwelling consists of connection space with the Ide Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa (God) a spiritual place (sanggah) known as parhyangan; social interaction space (the people) called pawongan and space connection between humans and nature in the form of site (pakarangan) known as palemahan. Each zone of space consists of two spaces, namely concrete and abstract. Space interaction between people and the God is a place to accommodate spiritual activities. The concept of zoning of hierarchy of higher mandala (utama ning utama) in nine zoning Balinese house (sangamandala) for lowland Bali settlements or ulu (utama) positions on Balinese highland settlements. This space consists of elements of palinggih-palinggih which 75

4 Figure 1. Sangamandala and Tri Hita Karana Concept in Balinese Ethnic Houses Figure 2. Sangamandala and Tri Hita Karana Concept in Section of Balinese Ethnic Houses is a form of sacred building with different functions as a spiritual manifestation and belief of Balinese Hindu society. In each palinggih there is a rong or place to put the conspiracy. In addition there is also an empty space in the center of the tread and the front of each palinggih and the entrance of the temple or sanggah which is used as space to put elements as an abstract space marker (niskala). This place or space is a zone for spiritual activities value in the form of a sekala space characterized by elements of palinggih-palinggih and other elements, while the niskala space is characterized by spiritual elements of bebantenan (offering) placed on the palinggih elements. Landscape in Balinese traditional house consist of natah, garden and entrance. These elements are relationship between people and nature. The existence of the garden in the house pakarangan not only create a beautiful visual, but also create thermal comfort through the production of oxygen by these plants. Each of the outer space has a niskala s form of pakarangan (tread) consist of palinggih panunggun karang (spiritual element), the space of the park is marked by the space for offerings, the plaza (core) is the core room of the yard which is used as a ritual space to create a balance between the space of the sacred and the niskala and the entrance of the angkul-angkul with space niskalanya are in the lebuh (the outer portion) and both sides of the angkul-angkul body. The concept of harmonious relationship between people and the god, human with human and human with the nature of keeping the balance between space sakala and niskala in each zone of space. Balinese traditional architecture is an architecture that maintains the consistency of 76

5 Figure 3. Sakala Niskala Concept on Temple Area (Parhyangan) Figure 4. Sakala Niskala Concept on Bale Daja Building Figure 5. Sakala Niskala Concept on Angkul-angkul area 77

6 these three aspects, because the architecture is not only the physical appearance (sakala) but the soul (niskala) of the physical manifestation. 2. Rwa Bhineda Concept on the Balance between Sakala and Niskala The concept of rwa bhineda as an aspect that reinforces the value of sakala and niskala. The concept teaches that the balance is created by two dichotomous elements. One element will not be balanced without the contrary element, such as the sakala and niskala in Traditional Balinese lawn. The presence of the sakala element (concrete) is not sufficient without the niskala element (abstract), since the niskala values are the soul of the sacred values. Like the human body will not live without soul or spirit. Given the realization of Balinese Traditional House that is not only composed of residential buildings but also there are sacred buildings and other spiritual elements. The presence of elements of the sacred space as a precursor space in the construction processes. Before a site is converted into residential, the shrine is first element to be built in the form of Turus Lumbung (simple form of balinese shrine, consist of four tree branches post). This means that the soul of the house is the first thing that was built before constructing the physical form of the human dwelling. Therefore, sakala Figure 6. Sakala Niskala Concept on Open Site (residential buildings) and niskala (sacred buildings) are two aspects that must exist in Balinese Traditional House to create harmony and comfortable atmosphere. The concept of sakala and niskala, not only applied when starting the construction, but also after the houses was built and inhabited, the relationship between the two spaces are maintained through routine and incidental spiritual activity. The illustration above describe how to create and maintenance of a Balinese traditional house, where the presence of sakala and niskala values becomes something that important to be maintained in balance. But how when a building is renovated or demolished. In this activity, the niskala value in the house is inactivated before being renovated or demolished. 78

7 So it can be concluded that sakala (concrete elements) and niskala (astract elements) is a unity that must exist in a Balinese Traditional house. The shrine as the soul of the compound (land) and residential buildings and yard as the physical elements. 3. The Dialogue between Concrete (Being) and Abstract (Non Being) with Sakala and Niskala Spaces The Eastern Thought of Lao Tzu combines being and non being in space as a similar concept with the sakala (concrete) and niskala (abstract) spaces in Balinese traditional architecture. In the concept, both aspects are contained in a space of concrete elements and abstract elements that become the soul of the real space. In traditional Balinese architecture, explaining the same thing that architecture is the personification of human being which consists of soul and physical element. In the Balinese ethnic house consists of three zones namely spiritual zone, residence zone and open space zone. Each space consists of two aspects: concrete (sakala/ being) and abstract (niskala/non being). Concrete aspects of physical form of building or space and abstract form of space marked by spiritual elements. This shows that the abstract space (niskala/non being) is a spiritual or divine space cannot be touched but can be felt through a concept of trust and marked by special elements. Concrete space (sakala/being) is a space that can be seen and touched its presence. 4. The Dialogue between Sacred and Profane Concepts with Sakala and Niskala Spaces Eliade (1957), sacred space as a place to get chaotic orientation homogeneity (contemplation space) that has opposition to profane space. To maintain the existence of spaces, the contrast of both becomes important. Likewise the space of the sakala and niskala to be balanced if the contrast of both awake by distinguishing space that is divine and space for humans. The sacred space has a hierophant marker element. Marker in Balinese ethnic house in question is palinggih-palinggih in the temple, palinggih panunggun karang, natah Figure 7. Form of Transcendent Space in Balinese Ethnic Houses 79

8 and lebuh from the yard of the house. These elements are essential from the ethnic Balinese yard. Existence as important elements will be preserved if there are rules in behaving against those elements. For example, not allowed to enter the temple area without using prayer clothes. E. CONCLUSION The research about discourses the concept of balance of sakala and niskala spaces at Balinese ethnic houses is not a research by producing an absolute conclusion on the case study of Balinese ethnic house. There is still much to be search and study through wider and more detailed approaches. The conclusions of the above analysis are: 1) The existence of the sakala and niskala space in the Bali ethnic house has a characteristic Balinese ethnic architecture is answering the challenges in planning the architecture of Bali in the future in macro and micro scale. 2) The balance of sakala and niskala space is maintained by presenting form aspects and maintaining their contrast in the Balinese ethnic house. REFERENCES Ashihara, Yoshinobu. (1983). Merancang Ruang Luar. Dian Surya Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Arsitektur Tradisional Bali, Denpasar: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Eliade, Mircea, The Sacred and The Profan, Harcour, Brace and Word, Inc, New York Hasil Sabha Arsitektur Tradisional Bali, Rumusan Arsitektur Bali. Denpasar: Hasil Sabha Arsitektur Tradisional Bali Swellengrebel, J.L. (1960). Bali, Some General Information. Dalam Bali: Studies in life, Thought and Ritual. The Hague: W. Van Hoeve. Van de Ven, Cornelis. (1991). Ruang dalam Arsitektur. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. Wastika, Dewa Nyoman, Penerapan Konsep Tri Hita Karana dalam Perencanaan Perumahan di Bali, dalam Jurnal Permukiman Natah Volume 3 Nomor 2 Bulan Agustus Tahun 2005, Denpasar: Program studi Teknik Arsitektur, Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Udayana. Wijaya, I Kadek Merta, Ruang Sakala dan Niskala di Sekitar Pohon Beringin di Denpasar, dalam Prosiding Seminar Nasional Space #3 dengan tema Membingkai Multikultur dalam Kearifan Lokal Melalui Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, Denpasar: Program Studi Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Hindu Indonesia 80